Recently, one of my clients and I were talking about the possibility of mixing up the countertop materials in her kitchen remodel. She has a small island, which offers the perfect opportunity to switch things up from what's on the perimeter.

Our kitchen has a small taste of this mixed and matched look - we used butcher block on a small section of shallow cabinets and a marble-like quartz on the rest of our countertops when we renovated in 2016. I love the look, and you can see how it turned out in this post!

I realize that this mixed-and-matched look might not be for everyone, but if you're thinking about (or in the midst of!) a kitchen remodel, you may want to think about if it might be right for your home. The images I have throughout this post are great examples of mixing countertop materials well - I hope they leave you feeling as inspired as I am!

Designer tip: One great way to make your dollars go farther in a kitchen remodel is to use butcher block as one of your countertop materials. It's inexpensive, adds warmth, and pairs beautifully with other materials. Going with a less expensive material in one area allows you to splurge on a higher end material like marble or quartz in another area.

What countertop materials should you think about mixing together?

The sky is pretty much the limit! This is where you can get creative. Some of the more common combinations I've seen are marble (or marble-like quartz) and butcher block, marble and soapstone or black granite, or concrete and butcher block. A more unusual material combo that I think could be amazing in the right home is stainless steel with marble-like quartz. The key is to choose two materials that will coordinate, but have enough contrast to look distinctly different. Pair dark with light, veining with a more solid countertop, or busy with subtle.

Also, make sure you consider surfaces that are practical for the tasks you'll need to do in that area. For example, butcher block and marble require more maintenance and upkeep - especially if they are near areas that will get wet like a sink or messy like a heavy food prep area. Depending on how much "character" you can tolerate, you may want to opt for something less porous like granite or quartz for spots that are heavily used and save the higher maintenance material for a lighter-use area.

One thing I wouldn't do in a home is mix laminate with a natural stone or quartz. Even though laminate has come a long way in terms of mimicking higher end materials, if you put them next to each other, you'll spot the difference right away. This will cheapen the look of your kitchen, and no one wants that!

I'll leave you on a happy note with a few more beautiful kitchens that I spotted that have mixed and matched countertops. Enjoy!

Favorites from CB2's current collection

CB2 has one of the most creative modern collections out there right now. They're always pushing the boundaries, but it's not so "high design" that it feels out of touch with what's practical for the way we live in our homes. They've got a great selection of affordable modern furniture and decor - I could barely scratch the surface with my picks for this week's shopping post! So many of their items could be that wow factor every room needs. And while I probably wouldn't decorate my entire house in CB2, I'd gladly pick up a few of their snazzy pieces!

Here are a few notes about the pieces on my list:

If you need a light that's sculptural, but still neutral, this wood table lamp might be the perfect answer! Its mid-century vibes are cool, but a little bit playful. Place a pair of these on nightstands or a single one on a console table.

Round or rectangular mirrors are wonderful, but in some spots, you might want a mirror to be less straight-up functional and act more like of a work of art. This brass wall mirror definitely fits the bill! It's a great size, and it'll pull double duty wherever you hang it - as wall art and it will bounce light to make a space feel brighter (which is one of my small space tips from this post!).

CB2 always has great hardware, and these new hex bar knobs are just one example! We used their brass hex knobs in our kitchen.

Red is not typically one of my go-to colors when I'm designing, but I loved this red rug when I first spotted it. It definitely has the feel of a vintage kilim rug with its distressed look, which is a look I'm digging right now.

When I find a good faux fiddle leaf fig, I can't help but share it! This one is reasonably priced for its size ($299), and it looks pretty real from the images.

CB2's pillows come with an feather down (or down alternative) pillow insert, which is SO awesome. Inserts cost between $10-20 usually, so their pillows are a great deal!

The catch-all large white storage bench is perfect for modern entryways (imagine rows of hooks above!) or could even be used as a built-in-style bench at a dining table since the seat height is a standard 19".

You can use the links above to check out the products, and you can also shop using the embedded shoppable widget below. Simply hover over the item you're interested in (or tap an item with your finger if you're on a mobile device) and click on the black and white plus sign that pops up. If you're on a feed reader or receiving this in your email, you'll need to click over to the full website to use this tool.

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Having been a city-dweller for the past eight years, I've lived in my fair share of small spaces. Our current house in Philadelphia is the largest of those, clocking in at a whopping(!) 1200 square feet. The smallest? A charming two room carriage house apartment with sloped ceilings positioned behind a stately mansion in Richmond, Virginia.

In addition to living in small spaces myself, I've designed quite a few for clients as well, and have become quite familiar with ways to make those small spaces feel larger. It's become second nature to design with these tricks in mind, so I figured it was high time I share these ideas with you so you can try them in your own homes.

These tricks don't involve any major renovations and are easy to implement - in some cases all it will take is a little time and planning, and for others you may need to start setting aside some cash to make them possible. If you need some help making the best use of your small space or don't know where to start, check out my e-design services. I'm here to help!

Six Easy Ways To Make Your Small Space Feel Larger

1. Add mirrors

It's no secret that mirrors have the effect of bouncing light and making a room feel brighter, and you know what the combination of those two things gets you? A space that feels larger! In our master bedroom, I added a large circular mirror to the wall above our dressers and it has made such a difference.

2. Hang curtains high and wide

All too often, I see curtains hung in a way that feels like they're "crowding" a window as opposed to framing it nicely. This is usually because the rod is placed too low and doesn't extend beyond the width of the window trim. When curtains are hung this way, they block valuable natural light, make windows feel small, and make a room feel more cramped in general. Hanging them "high and wide" beyond the window frame like I show you in this blog post will correct this problem and open up your space. Be sure to check out that post if you're currently hanging drapes because I go in-depth on how to hang them well!

3. Make sure your furniture is the right scale

This tip is a little more abstract than some of the others since every room is different and will require different pieces of furniture. One good rule of thumb though is that just because your room is small does not automatically mean that your furniture needs to be tiny. For example, you can have a full-sized, but appropriately scaled sofa even if you live in a studio apartment. In other words, an overstuffed La-Z-Boy probably isn't the right answer, but a shallower couch with slimmed-down arms might be!

4. Use a larger rug

This idea is a great piggyback to tip #3, and might seem a little counterintuitive, but it's true! Using a larger rug actually makes a space feel bigger. The reason why is because a small rug (one that feels like the size of a postage stamp relative to the furniture around it) tends to visually break up a room, which in turn has the effect of making a room feel cluttered and crowded. More often than not, I would choose a rug that sits under at least the front feet of the furniture along its edges.

5. Use "airy" furniture

Want to know a sure-fire way to make a room feel larger? Choose "leggy" furniture and/or pieces with glass or lucite as the dominant material. Furniture that has space under and around it, or that is see-through is like a magic trick on the eyes. Take a coffee table for example: if you two that are the same width, length, and height, but one is more like a trunk and the other is a table with an open frame, the latter will feel more airy and light. Those airy and light pieces will make that area feel bigger and less visually heavy.

6. Lighten things up

If you have the option to literally go lighter in a room with paint, light-colored furniture, or light-hued textiles, it will open up your space. We experienced this in our current home when painted our walls an almost-white light gray (Benjamin Moore "Winter White"). They were a buttery yellow before, and even though the color wasn't that dark, going light made a huge difference in our row home where every little bit counts.

So those are my small space decorating tips for y'all. If you have some to add to my list, please do! The comments are open for you below to chime in with your tricks!

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Hi there! I'm Chaney, and I'm the founder of Mix & Match Design Company. My passion is helping people create homes that they love in an affordable and approachable way through e-design. Read more about my services here!

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